Mobile, Robotic Crate

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are a mobile robotic, packaging create and a method of moving a cargo item using that packaging crate. The mobile packaging crate comprises a crate body for holding a given item, a self-propelled driving assembly secured to the crate body for moving the crate body, and an operating module connected to the driving assembly for operating the driving assembly to move the crate body. This operating module may include a processor unit to control operation of the driving assembly in a pre-defined manner. For instance, the processor unit may be programmed to operate the driving assembly to move the packaging crate along a predefined path from a first location to a second location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention, generally, relates to packaging crates, and morespecifically, to a self-propelled robotic crate. Even more specifically,the preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a robotic cratewell suited for transporting large items such as large-scale computerservers.

2. Background Art

Currently, when many large items such as large-scale computer servers,are crated for shipment, they are moved using forklifts or pallet jacks.There are a number of problems with these procedures. One importantproblem is the cost of labor to move the product.

Forklift trucks, which are often used to move packaging crates, haveseveral significant limitations. For instances, forklifts generallyrequire wide aisles within which to maneuver to pick up or deposit aload. The use of large fork lift trucks within a confined working spaceis not wholly satisfactory and may result in damage to the packagingcrate or to other goods and equipment in the working space. Also,forklifts are quite heavy themselves and may place significant stress onany surface or platform onto which they are driven. In addition,forklifts have proven to be quite maintenance intensive and costly tooperate over their service life.

Human labor can be used to package and move large crates. This, however,can become expensive and time consuming and can also result in damage tothe crate, the items being packaged, or to other items or equipment inthe work area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide an improved crate for largeitems such as large-scale computer servers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a packaging cratehaving improved mobility.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packaging crate thatincorporates a set of robotics into the base of the crate and that willshepherd the product through various modes of distribution to the endcustomer.

These and other objectives are attained with a mobile, robotic packagingcrate and a method of moving a cargo item using that packaging crate.The packaging crate comprises a crate for holding a given item, aself-propelled driving assembly secured to the crate for moving thecrate, and an operating module connected to the driving assembly foroperating the driving assembly to move the crate.

This operating module may include a processor unit to control operationof the driving assembly in a pre-defined manner. For instance, theprocessor unit may be programmed to operate the driving assembly to movethe crate along a predefined path from a first location to a secondlocation.

The preferred embodiment of the invention, described in detail below,provides a number of important advantages. For example, in thispreferred embodiment, the robotics installed in the crate allow thecrate not just to be moved to a fork lift truck, but also allows thecrated product to be moved off the truck and lets an operator remotely“drive” the crated product to wherever it is needed.

Further benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom a consideration of the following detailed description, given withreference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferredembodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a packaging crate embodying the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the packaging crate of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the crate of FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing a rampof the crate partially lowered.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the crate showing the ramp locked in a loweredposition.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an operating module of the packaging crate.

FIG. 6 illustrates a computer server being unloaded from the crate.

FIG. 7 shows crate and computer server after the server has beenunloaded from the crate.

FIG. 8 illustrates a computer system that may be used to transmitoperating commands to the packaging crate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1-4 show a robotic, packaging crate 10 embodying the presentinvention. Generally, this robotic packaging crate 10 comprises a cratebody 12, a self-propelled driving assembly 14, and an operating module16. With the embodiment of the packaging crate shown in FIGS. 1-4,driving assembly 14 includes first and second subassemblies 20 and 22.The first subassembly includes a first set of drive wheels 24 and atread 26 mounted thereon, and the second subassembly includes a secondset of wheels and a tread 30 mounted thereon. Also, with reference toFIG. 5, in this preferred embodiment, operating module 16 includes aprocessor unit 32, a command signal receiver 34, and a control unit 36;and preferably, the packaging crate further includes a GPS signalgenerator 40.

Generally, with reference again to FIGS. 1-4, crate body 12 is providedfor holding a cargo item. While the present invention may be used with awide range of cargo items, the preferred crate body shown in the Figuresis designed to hold large computer servers. These servers may be upwardsof seventy-nine and a half inches in height and 3500 lbs in weight. Anysuitable crate body may be used in the implementation of the presentinvention, and, for example, the crate body 12 may be made from wood ormetal. Other materials may also be used, though.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, crate body 12 has a box shape and includesgenerally planar or flat front, back, left, right, top and bottom sidesor panels 42, 44, 46, 50, 52 and 54. These sides or panels may beconnected together in any appropriate manner. As will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art, crate body may have other shapes andsizes.

Driving assembly 14 is secured to crate body 14 and is provided formoving the crate body along or over a surface or surface area; and, asshown in FIGS. 1-4, driving assembly 14 is located beneath the cratebody and is secured to the bottom panel 54 of the crate body. Anysuitable driving assembly may be used in the practice of the instantinvention. For instance, as mentioned above, driving assembly mayinclude first and second subassemblies 20 and 22. As illustrated in theFigures, subassembly 20 is located on a first, or right side of cratebody 12, and subassembly 22 is located on a second, or left side of thecrate body.

Subassembly 20 includes a set of drive wheels 24 and a tread 26 mountedon those wheels for movement around those wheels. Similarly, subassembly22 includes a set drive wheels and a tread 30 mounted on those wheelsfor movement around those wheels. In these subassemblies 20 and 24, thewheels may be supported and driven in any suitable way, and the treads26 and 30 may be mounted on those wheels in any suitable manner. Also,the wheels and treads may be made of any suitable materials, such asmetal, rubber or plastic. Moreover, each of the treads may be made ofone, unitary piece of material, or the treads may be comprised of aseries of connected, articulated links.

Operating module 16 is connected to the driving assembly 14 to operatethat assembly and to move crate 10 around from location to location. Aswill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, a wide rangeof specific control mechanisms or devices 36 may be used to connectmodule 16 to driving assembly 14 so that the module operates thatassembly in the desired manner.

Also, preferably, module 16 includes a processor unit 32 that is, or canbe, programmed to operate the driving assembly 14 in a defined manner.Module 16 itself may be operated in a number of ways. For example, themodule may be pre-programmed to operate driving assembly 14 to movecrate 10 in a predefined path with little or no human or operator input.Alternatively, the module 16 may be provided with means 34 for receivingoperator input to steer or drive the crate in a manner determined by theoperator. The robotic packaging crate can be operated so that it movesfrom one location to another location, or so that it moves onto anothermobile carrier, such as a forklift truck or an “air ride”tractor/trailer.

Also, the module 16 may be able to operate in both of the abovedescribes modes—that is, in a first mode in which module controlsdriving assembly 14 to move the crate 10 in a defined manner withoutinput from an operator; and in a second mode, wherein the modulereceives input from an operator to drive the crate 12 in the mannerdetermined by the operator. Both modes may be used separately, ortogether.

Preferably, the front panel 42 of crate body 12 can serve as aloading/unloading ramp. With particular reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, thefront panel includes a section 56 that is supported for movement betweena closed position and a ramp position. Preferably, this section 56 ofthe front panel 42 is pivotally supported for movement between thesepositions. In the closed position, section 56 is flush, or coplanar,with the rest of the front panel 42. In the ramp position, section 56extends downwardly forwardly from the front of the main body of thecrate, forming a downwardly sloping ramp.

In addition, section 56 normally covers an opening 60 in crate body 12,which allows the cargo item to be moved in and out of the crate body. Assection 56 moves from the closed position to the ramp position, thatopening 60 is uncovered. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a cargo item,such as a large computer server 62, can then be loaded into or removedfrom the inside of the crate body. More specifically, to unload theserver, front ramp 56 is deployed and locked in place, and then theserver is rolled or slid down the ramp. Also, preferably, section 56 iscomprised of two subsections 56 a and 56 b pivotally connected together.The use of these pivotally connected subsections increases the range ofpositions into which the ramp section 56 can be moved while loading andunloading an item.

FIG. 8 shows a computer system, including a laptop computer 80 that maybe employed in the implementation of this invention, and in particular,may be used to transmit operating commands to operating module 16 ofpackaging crate 10. Laptop computer 80 includes a Processing unit 82,which houses a processor, memory and other system components thatimplement a general purpose processing system that may execute acomputer program product comprising media, for example a floppy discthat may be read by the processing unit through floppy drive. Theprogram product may also be stored on hard disk drives within theprocessing unit or may be located on a remote system such as a server84.

As shown in FIG. 8, laptop computer 80 is connected to a network 86 suchas the Internet; and this connection may be made in any suitable way,including a wireless connection. FIG. 8 also shows a server 84 and adatabase 90, which may be used in the implementation of this invention.Server 84 represents the Web site servers that may be accessed in thecourse of the present invention to download information used in thepresent invention. This information may include, for instance, thespecific location of the packaging crate 10 and directions for movingthe packaging crate. Computer 80 communicates with packaging crate 10,specifically operating module 16 thereof, in any suitable way. This maybe done, for example, via network 86, via another network, such as a LANor another WAN, or computer 80 may transmit data directly to operatingmodule, and this may be done using a wireless or wired connection.

As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the presentinvention, or aspects of the invention, can be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. Any kind ofcomputer/server system(s)—or other apparatus adapted for carrying outthe methods described herein—is suited. A typical combination ofhardware and software could be a general-purpose computer system with acomputer program that, when loaded and executed, carries out therespective methods described herein. Alternatively, a specific usecomputer, containing specialized hardware for carrying out one or moreof the functional tasks of the invention, could be utilized.

The present invention, or aspects of the invention, can also be embodiedin a computer program product, which comprises all the respectivefeatures enabling the implementation of methods or procedures describedherein, and which—when loaded in a computer system—is able to carry outthese methods. Computer program, software program, program, or software,in the present context mean any expression, in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: (a) conversionto another language, code or notation; and/or (b) reproduction in adifferent material form.

While it is apparent that the invention herein disclosed is wellcalculated to fulfill the objects stated above, it will be appreciatedthat numerous modifications and embodiments may be devised by thoseskilled in the art, and it is intended that the appended claims coverall such modifications and embodiments as fall within the true spiritand scope of the present invention.

1. A mobile robotic, packaging crate, comprising: a crate body forholding a given item; a self-propelled driving assembly secured to thecrate body for moving the crate body; and an operating module connectedto the driving assembly for operating the driving assembly to move thecrate body.
 2. A mobile robotic, packaging crate according to claim 1,wherein the operating module includes a processor unit to controloperation of the driving assembly in a pre-defined manner.
 3. A mobilerobotic, packaging crate according to claim 2, wherein the processorunit is programmed to operate the driving assembly to move the cratealong a predefined path from a first location to a second location.
 4. Amobile robotic, packaging crate according to claim 1, wherein: theoperating module includes a receiver unit to receive commands from aremote operator to operate the driving assembly; and a control unit tooperate the driving assembly in accordance with said commands.
 5. Amobile robotic, packaging crate according to claim 1, further comprisinga GPS signal generator unit to generate and to transmit a signal toenable the location of the packaging crate to be tracked using theGlobal Positioning System.
 6. A mobile packaging crate according toclaim 1, wherein the crate body includes a panel section supported bythe crate body for movement to a ramp position to engage a supportsurface and to form a ramp between the crate body and the supportsurface.
 7. A mobile robotic, packaging crate according to claim 6,wherein the crate body supports the panel section for pivotal movementbetween a closed position and the ramp position.
 8. A mobile robotic,packaging crate according to claim 7, wherein as the panel section movesfrom the closed position to the ramp position, an access opening isopened in the crate body for providing access to an interior of thecrate body to allow the given item to be moved into and removed from theinterior of the crate.
 9. A mobile robotic, packaging crate according toclaim 1, wherein the driving assembly is located beneath the crate body.10. A mobile robotic, packaging crate according to claim 8, wherein thedriving assembly includes: a first sub-assembly located beneath a firstside of the crate body; and a second sub-assembly located beneath asecond side of the crate.
 11. A mobile robotic, packaging crateaccording to claim 10, wherein: the first sub-assembly includes: i) afirst set of drive wheels, ii) a first tread mounted on the first set ofdrive wheels for movement around said first set of drive wheels; and thesecond sub-assembly includes: i) a second set of drive wheels, and ii) asecond tread mounted on the second set of drive wheels for movementaround said second set of drive wheels.
 12. A method for moving a cargoitem, comprising the steps of: loading the cargo item into a crateincluding a self-propelled driving assembly; and operating said drivingassembly to move the crate and the cargo item.
 13. A method according toclaim 12, wherein the crate includes a programmable processor unit, andthe operating step includes the steps of: programming the processor unitto operate the driving assembly to move the crate along a defined pathfrom a first location to a second location; and using the processor unitto operate the driving assembly to move the crate along said definedpath.
 14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the crate includes areceiver and a control unit, and wherein the operating step includes thesteps of: transmitting commands to the receiver for operating thedriving assembly; and the control unit then operating the driving unitin accordance with said commands.
 15. A method according to claim 12,wherein the crate includes a GPS signal generator, and the methodcomprises the further steps of: using the GPS signal generator togenerate a signal to enable the location of the crate to be trackedusing GPS; and tracking movement of the cargo item, by using the GPS, toan end purchaser.
 16. A method according to claim 12, wherein the crateincludes a movable panel section, and the loading step includes thesteps of using said panel section as a ramp to load the cargo item intoand to remove the cargo item from the crate.
 17. A method according toclaim 16, wherein the movable panel section is pivotally connected tothe crate, and the using step includes the step of pivoting the movablepanel section from a closed position to a ramp position, wherein thepanel section forms a ramp leading to the interior of the crate.
 18. Amethod according to claim 12, wherein the crate includes a programmableprocessor unit and a control unit, and wherein the operating stepincludes the steps of: programming the processor unit with a givenprogram; the processor unit operating the driving assembly, according tosaid given program, to move the crate onto a mobile carrier; using thefork mobile carrier to move the crate from a first location to a secondlocation; and transmitting remote commands to the control unit to removethe driving assembly from the mobile carrier to a third location.
 19. Amethod according to claim 18, wherein the mobile carrier is atractor/trailer.
 20. A method according to claim 18, wherein the mobilecarrier is a forklift truck.